NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel on Friday said that there are unresolved disparities in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) calculations and, therefore, it is seeking parity of treatment on AGR dues.
Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, speaking during the investor call following the company’s third-quarter results for FY 2025–26, said several areas of disparity remain. One such area, he noted, relates to computation issues—arithmetic errors and errors of commission and omission.
Airtel will decide on its next course of action once it hears back from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). “Once we hear back from the DoT, we will decide on our next steps. At this point, that is all the information we have on the AGR issue. The letters have already been sent, and we are awaiting their response,” said Gopal Vittal.
Airtel’s move comes after Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) received relief on AGR payments from the DoT, following directions from the Supreme Court to provide relief to the country’s third-largest telecom service provider. Under the relief measures, the government has frozen VIL’s AGR dues for the period from FY 2006–07 to FY 2018–19 at Rs 87,695 crore as of December 31, 2025, subject to reassessment. The amount excludes AGR dues for FY 2017–18 and FY 2018–19, which have already been finalised by the court. The frozen dues will also be reassessed by the DoT.
Against this backdrop, Bharti Airtel has written to the government seeking similar parity of treatment on the AGR issue. India’s second-largest telecom operator owes around Rs 51,091 crore in AGR dues as of December 31, 2025.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel reported a 55% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,630.5 crore for the quarter ended December 2025 (Q3 FY26). The sharp decline was largely due to a net exceptional gain recorded in the same quarter last year, following the reclassification of Indus Towers from an associate to a subsidiary, which had boosted profits in Q3 FY25.
Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a key industry metric, rose to Rs 259 in Q3 FY26 from Rs 245 in Q3 FY25, registering a 5.7% year-on-year increase and remaining the highest among its peers. The company is also advocating a differentiated pricing architecture, under which customers pay more for higher usage, rather than maintaining separate pricing structures for 4G and 5G services.
“We will need to rethink 5G versus 4G pricing, but the reality is that customers will eventually have to pay more for data if ARPUs are to increase… The pricing repair and architecture discussion we have been having is still evolving, and we need to do much more on that front to drive ARPU growth,” said Shashwat Sharma Managing Director (MD) and CEO of Bharti Airtel India.
